Blood pressure

[RecurringThoughts]

I'm freaking out! My blood pressure was 129/84 today, and 133/83 on Wednesday! When I last checked it in August, it was 110/54. Why the sudden change? Why go from below optimum to pre-hypertension?! I don't smoke, I exercise 5 days a week, and I have been vegan for five years. I wonder if it is because I am taking the nuvaring, but I have been on that for 1.5 yrs and would think it would have ramped up my blood pressure sooner. Please help :( I'm convinced I'm going to have a heart attack or stroke soon :(

[MikeDewar]

Stop checking the monitor you have! Your blood pressure changes all the time! 135/85 is considered normal in some standards as well as 120/80. Of course if your exercise it will be lower in athletes. Your trigger your anxiety by checking it all the time! I do the same thing sometimes. If you strongly think your blood pressure is out of whack track it for a couple weeks or month and then present that to a cardiologist or physican! Stay strong and keep lifting!

[trinidiva]

Your BP is completely normal. When your BP is 200+/120+, then that is dangerous. Your bp can vary depending on what type of the day you take it, if you've done any kind of physical exertion, what you've eaten beforehand ( eating things high in salt, etc) and if you are not calm before taking your pressure.
Please do not worry. Your BP is normal.

[Dahila]

it is normal, I get it up as soon as I look at my BP monitor;)))

[RecurringThoughts]

Thanks everyone. I guess I was scared because it used to always be lower than 120/80, and then I looked online (I know, big mistake) and it said that a reading of 133/84 is pre-hypertension. That just made me wonder if I am ever at the hypertension level, because I am a stressed person and drink coffee. I am going to try to change some of my eating habits and see if that helps.

Has anyone else had their b.p. in this range?

[trinidiva]

Thanks everyone. I guess I was scared because it used to always be lower than 120/80, and then I looked online (I know, big mistake) and it said that a reading of 133/84 is pre-hypertension. That just made me wonder if I am ever at the hypertension level, because I am a stressed person and drink coffee. I am going to try to change some of my eating habits and see if that helps.

Has anyone else had their b.p. in this range?

Me....all the time! Today, as a matter of fact!!!!! Seriously, there is nothing wrong with that at all......there was a point in time when I had a real bp problem.....my bp was like 186/108....right after having my daughter. ...and I still didn't have any symptoms. ...they put me on a bp med which immediately fixed it. I was able to eventually get off the bp med by changing my diet and exercising more. Now, I monitor it periodically.....and it ranges any where in the 120-130's/ 80-90's.......
Please don't worry.....you are fine.

[RecurringThoughts]

My doctor didn't even mention it when he saw my blood pressure reading, so maybe that just shows the lack of an emergency. I've been having headaches in the right hemisphere of my brain, as well as fatigue ( these symptoms are why I went to the doctor) and I can't help but wonder if my bp is related. I've also imagined that maybe I have an aneurysm and that's the reason the the headaches?

Ugh, I just need to get rid of this anxiety...

[trinidiva]

No, if you had that, it would the worst headache you've ever had. Perhaps these might be migraines? I'd speak to your doc and start to keep a headache diary.....how often you have them.....if you've eaten certain things beforehand.....etc... Also, how's your water intake? If you aren't hydrated enough , that could cause headaches also.

[PanicPhobia]

Stop checking the monitor you have! Your blood pressure changes all the time! 135/85 is considered normal in some standards as well as 120/80. Of course if your exercise it will be lower in athletes. Your trigger your anxiety by checking it all the time! I do the same thing sometimes. If you strongly think your blood pressure is out of whack track it for a couple weeks or month and then present that to a cardiologist or physican! Stay strong and keep lifting!

^ This.

Whenever I go for my med checkups they take my BP. The other day it was like 130/85 or something. In the past it has always been 120/80 (or very close). When I have panic attacks it goes through the roof (140/90). When i went to the ER once, I saw my BP on the heart monitor. It was really high but the doctor didn't seem concerned at all. He said that anxiety itself can temporarily raise it.

[RecurringThoughts]

Thanks everyone!

Last night I had a really bad headache -- it felt like pounding all over my head and like it was trapped in a vice grip. It also got worse when I would lay down, which I read was cause to go to the ER. I called an advice nurse and described my symptoms to her to see what she would suggest, and she just recommended ibuprofen, which I know to raise bp. I took it despite my reservations, and the pain began to subside over the course of an hour. The whole time I was worried I had a ruptured aneurysm, although I don't think the headache was the worst headache possible, and I could function pretty well. Nevertheless, the whole night I couldn't help but think I made a big mistake not going to the hospital. But aneurysm headaches shouldn't be improved by painkillers, should they? Also, wouldn't I be dead by now (11 hrs later) if that's what it was? My head still has a dull ache, and the worry that is causing me probably isn't helping my bp.

[MikeDewar]

You would be dead man, I just had a friend from high school dad die from one and he complained of a terrible headache. These are just sensations that are taking over your body! Try your best to control these sensations by telling yourself it's just the anxiety trying to bug you! Your fine!

[RecurringThoughts]

You're right, I'd be dead. I talked to a doctor on the phone this morning about last night's headache, and she asked me a whole arsenal of questions to figure out if I might have a tumor or aneurysm. The questions that always confuse me are "do you get a headache when you bend over" or "do you feel numbness?". My question is, if I had these symptoms, would it be unmistakable from a fluke? Sometimes when bend over, I feel a bit of pressure in my head, but I wouldn't categorize it as a "headache" because it doesn't hurt, it's just uncomfortable. Is that still relevant? Do doctors look for symptoms that are more intense and persistent, than ones that are vague and occur sometimes? In terms of numbness, do they mean really numb, or just kinda numb, because sometimes I think "well, my arm might be numb, but I don't know". Does anyone else share a similar exasperation with questions like this? I wonder if my lack of knowledge of symptoms that might be serious or not is leading me to incorrectly describe what I am experiencing. Or maybe, my inability to convey these sensations means it's really not a big deal. Any thoughts on this?

I started a headache diary, so maybe that will shed some light on things.

[vic]

I'm freaking out! My blood pressure was 129/84 today, and 133/83 on Wednesday! When I last checked it in August, it was 110/54. Why the sudden change? Why go from below optimum to pre-hypertension?! I don't smoke, I exercise 5 days a week, and I have been vegan for five years. I wonder if it is because I am taking the nuvaring, but I have been on that for 1.5 yrs and would think it would have ramped up my blood pressure sooner. Please help :( I'm convinced I'm going to have a heart attack or stroke soon :( your blood pressure changes quite a lot it is normal when I had my son I had pre eclampsia but my blood pressure stayed high for ages so I had to have a 24 hr Bp machine put on me to see my Bp over a 24 hr period wen they got the results she said on the whole it's normal but wen it's high it's dangerously high nd wen it's low it's very low but the over roll mean was normal so try not to worry too much

[Blessed]

Had panic attack all day my bp is 143/114 totally freakjng me out once I seen those numbers what do i do????

[worriedmummy85]

Have you lay down a bit and taken it again?

[Blessed]

I took it six more times each times it gradually came down but my heart rates over 100. That bottom number 114 really scared the crap out of me!!!!!!!!! Is that stroke or heart attack level??

[RecurringThoughts]

I don't know, but maybe wait a couple of days before checking it again, or calling an advice nurse?